The Vulpine Dayne
by Psionic108
Summary: People say fate is set in stone, Naruto was supposed to become a Hokage and live a happy life. Ashara's son was supposed to be a stillborn...so how is it that she came to raise a babe with sun kissed blonde hair and whisker marks as her own son? KyuubiJinchuurikiNaruto! WesterosRaisedNaruto!
1. Chapter 1

**This disclaimer shall apply to all the future chapters, I do not own Naruto or A Song of Ice and Fire series. They are owned by their respective owners/companies.**

 **OoO**

 _The Children of the Forest were widely believed to worship the trees with faces but that was only partly true. They worshipped the numerous unnamed spirits of nature, the spirits of the stones, the earth and the trees._

 _The carved faces on the trees were not there just to symbolize the spirits but they also acted as a locus for the spirits who were part of the Godhead._

 _In the land now known as Land of Always Winter, there was a single carved heart tree, it held one of the most powerful of the Nature Gods. The deity was a benevolent being but during the War of the men and the Children of the Forest, in their desperation to save their race, the Children committed an ungodly act._

 _They created a weapon out of man and blood magic, a weapon they would have control over to end this war. They created the first Other. A being who was once a man, now with a heart as cold as ice and eyes as blue as a glacier._

 _But the man wasn't the only thing that changed, the act of creating the Other corrupted the weirwood._

 _The spirit that was anchored to the tree could feel itself turning inside, it could sense the malice that had seeped into its roots and would soon take over its being. Being a part of the nature, the spirit was connected to the fauna and flora of the world. To prevent the malice from affecting the nature and other spirits, it willfully banished itself to another world._

 _But the Creator Above All had different plans, the spirit was transported to another world where it was trapped in a female body._

 **OoO**

Naruto and Sasuke had managed to trap Kaguya with their **Six Paths-Chibaku Tensei** , but Kaguya had managed to graze Sasuke's arm with her **All-Killing Bones.** It was only his strong will that kept him going for as long as it did for them to manage sealing Kaguya once and for all.

But things weren't going to end this smoothly it seemed because as soon as the sealing was completed, holes started appearing in the fabric of reality around them. One of them sucked Naruto in, the last thing he saw was Sasuke trying to reach out to him only for his body to turn to ash.

He had no time to mourn his best friend's loss either because soon he felt the sensation of a million needles pricking him throughout his body. He could feel his bones fighting against his muscles and skin to break free, he could see myriad of colors flashing across his eyes.

But it wasn't that his bones were growing bigger, it was his body that was becoming smaller. His clothes started disappearing and he was now naked as his nameday.

It was as if time was reverting, he now didn't even know why he was here or why he was feeling this pain. He didn't know what his name was or…or...he couldn't remember anything.

 **OoO**

The war had ripped apart the kingdom, people afraid that their village or town might be pillaged next, soldiers fought for their lords who were trying hard to appease their king or the Usurper.

And all of this had started when her brother's prince and the closest friend had decided to steal the Northern girl, the one whom he had crowned the Queen of Love and Beauty.

The Northern girl's older brother marched to the Red Keep with a small band of Nobles but he was arrested for conspiring to kill the Crown Prince. He died, inadvertently strangling himself to death while he watched his armored father cooked alive in his suit of armor.

The girl's younger brother…..Ned, along with his fellow ward and close friend Robert waged a war of rebellion against the Targaryen dynasty.

And now the Silver Prince was dead, killed by the usurper Robert but with no Lyanna in sight.

The burden had fell upon her shoulders to inform the man who had stolen her heart at the Tourney of Harrenhall about his sister's whereabouts.

 **OoO**

It was a year before she had informed Ned Stark about his sister's location

She held hope, hope that after seeing his child growing in her womb he would marry her.

It would be two days later after she woke up after giving birth to her child did she find that her son, he was stillborn.

She had locked herself in her quarters for hours, weeping over her loss before making her way to the courtyard to the heart tree.

The face carved onto the tree looked through her body and into her soul…almost with a look of pity.

She had only done this when she was but a little girl, she hadn't prayed to any gods once she had grew into a lady but now…now she needed all the hope she could get.

She prayed to the Gods that her family kept, prayed for the safety of her brother, prayed for Ned to come back safely, prayed for strength to keep her going and that was when the impossible happened.

The carved face seemed to smile, and a powerful bolt of lightning struck the tree, ripping it apart until only the hollow shell of the tree remained.

She didn't moved until the sound of crying emanated from the tree, she peered inside to find a little babe lying in ash, crying.

At that moment, she knew that this babe was a gift from the Old Gods. She gently carried the little baby up and looked at him closely. He had three distinct whisker like marks on each of his cheeks, and his eyes….his eye color were the color of amethyst, so similar to her that it was terrifying!

She had never been a pious woman but at that moment, in her wrecked state of mind, her only thought was that the Gods had deemed it fit to return her son to her and that's the tale of how Lady Ashara Dayne got herself ahold of her 'son'.

 **OoO**

 **Soo…I changed some stuff in this chapter namely Naruto appearing a year before Ned went to the Tower of Joy. So Naruto should be one year older than Jon and Robb and oh…in the books Ashara Dayne gave birth to a still born daughter but in this version, she gave birth to a stillborn boy. This story is an AU-Canon Divergence.**


	2. Chapter 2

Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, he was said to be the most chivalrous knight in the whole Kingdom and also the deadliest. So when he had heard the news that his sister was with a child, he was furious…not at his sister but at the man who had dishonored her. He loved his sister from the bottom of his heart.

It would be halfway during the Robert's Rebellion that he would come to know that the child his sister birthed to was a stillborn.

So when he visited Starfall while on the way to the Tower of Joy, he was surprised that Ashara was teaching a year old boy to walk. He had sun kissed blonde hair and what seemed to be whisker like scars on each of his cheeks.

The smile she gave him when he walked into the room tugged gently at his heart. The last letter which he had received from the Maester talked about Ashara weeping for hours, closing herself off from the housestaff and their sister Allyria.

So who was this child tugging at the hem of his sister's clothes?

"Arthur! You're back!" Ashara ran towards him and hugged him.

"It's good to see you as well little sister." He said mussing her hair with a chuckle.

The little boy started taking baby steps towards his sister but fell down when he was just about to reach her.

Ashara left his brother's embrace and gently picked up the little boy. Though instead of crying like normal babies would, the boy started gurgling with laughter.

"Quite a child you've got there. Who's he?" Arthur asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"He's my son, Starick I've named him after….our sigil." Ashara said, tickling little Starick which made him go into peals of laughter.

"But wasn't your child a stillborn." Arthur asked before realizing what he had said.

"I didn-" Arthur tried to speak up but was silenced by Ashara, her eyes were glazed.

"No, you are quite right. My son was at first born stillborn but then I wept in front of our Gods, the Old ones. They gave me another chance at…at this. They gave my child another chance. He's…..he's their gift to me" Her voice broke.

Arthur knew he shouldn't prod on further but he still asked, "What do you mean Asha?" he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She gazed at his hand for a moment before telling him all about how and when she found Starick. Arthur would've thought she was jesting if not for the honesty in her voice and sorrow in her eyes.

"So…he really fell from the sky?" Arthur asked, still trying to wrap his mind around this…well this.

"No! Well….yes. The lightning tore down the tree and it was my little Starick." She said as she played with Starick.

"May I- may I hold him?"

"Well of course! He's your nephew after all." Ashara said as she handed him Starick.

Starick gripped at Arthur's hair and pulled strongly.

"Aha! You seem like a strong boy, you'll be a fine warrior one day." He said as he played with him.

They stayed and talked about their childhood for what were like hours. It wasn't until Ser Oswell Whent knocked on the door to remind Arthur that they had to be somewhere did they stop.

Bidding his sister and nephew farewell, Ser Arthur and the other Kingsguard members went on their not so merry way.

This would be the last time Ser Arthur would be seeing his sister or his nephew.

 **OoO**

Ned Stark was speechless, if he believed what Ashara said, he had a son and he knew Ashara to be an honorable woman not to question her claim.

He had fallen in love with her on the day they danced, at the tourney of Harrenhall. At that time Brandon had been betrothed to Catelyn Tully, Brandon had been the one to get him to dance with her and for that he would have been forever grateful to his brother.

Their lovemaking had been intense and full of passion. For the first time ever, Eddard Stark had felt this alive.

But then Lyanna had ran away with Rhaegar and Brandon and his Father killed at the hands of the Mad King.

So after a year of rebellion, they had finally won but at what cost? He asked himself that question every night.

If the sight of the Princess Elia and her children not been gruesome enough, Robert….his friend…..his brother was pleased at that sight. Repelled by the act, Ned had called it murder of children but Robert's reply chilled him to the core, "I don't see any children, all I see are dragon spawn." This couldn't be right, this wasn't his brother in arms, this was something else entirely, something twisted and corrupted.

Ned wanted to be away from this man who called himself Robert, so he with some of his most trusted bannermen began the search for his sister.

Out of seven that went, only two managed to stay alive. Ned had asked his close friend, Howland Reed to escort the Silent Sisters back to North with Lyanna's body.

He himself went to Starfall, to return House Dayne's ancestral sword, Dawn to the house.

And now he was here, with a child in his one hand and the Dawn in other.

Lyanna had married Rhaegar on the Isle of Faces under the protection of the Old Gods and her son out of the marriage was Jon…..she had died giving birth to him on a bed of blood and roses.

She had made him promise, promise to not let Robert kill him, promise to give him the love she could not give him herself. And so he had made that promise, for like Ser Arthur, he too loved his sister from the bottom of his heart.

 **OoO**

Ashara had informed Ned…her Ned about his sister's whereabouts so he could save her. Arthur had told her the truth about Lyanna's abduction, a fact she hadn't told Ned.

She was now introducing Starick to his father, her Ned.

Ned seemed shocked, probably worrying about how he had dishonored her so she spoke.

"You didn't dishonor me….if that's what you're worrying about…and you didn't dishonor your Lady wife either. I became with Starick when you were without any commitments, when Brandon was betrothed to Lady Catelyn." She spoke which got him out of his stupor somewhat.

"How could I not have dishonored you?! I gave you a child and I can't even give him my last name." Ned said, struck by the realization what he had done, he had destroyed a child's life and later he was going to do the same to his nephew's life, he had two bastards now.

"No, he has a name and it's Sand. He's going to be a brave knight as his uncle, aren't you Starick!" she said cooing to him.

 **OoO**

It had taken Ashara three days to get over her brother's death, she wanted to mourn but she couldn't leave little Starick alone for long time. He followed her everywhere and she didn't want him to see her grief stricken.

Ned had left a day back, they had a huge disagreement over what should happen to Starick.

Stark wanted to take Starick with him, to the North where he would be raised among his own pack, with people to call as family but Ashara knew a woman's heart because….well she was a woman herself and no woman could stand to see the proof of her husband's infidelity.

She tried to persuade him to leave Jon with her as well, Starick would have a brother and Jon would be safe from Robert.

Yes, after Ashara had confessed that she knew about Lyanna and Rhaegar's marriage, Ned confessed about Jon's heritage. He confessed about his fears, about what Robert might do if he ever found out about Jon's parentage.

In the end, she had failed to persuade Ned to leave Jon in her care, he had said, "Jon is of my blood and Starks stick by each other."

Over the course of two days, Ned and Starick had formed a sort of a familial bond, but Ashara was surprised when Ned placed a kiss over Starick's forehead.

"I may not be able to give him my name, but he will not have a bastard name." Ned had said cryptically before leaving with Jon.

And that's the tale of how Starick became a legitimate Dayne.

 **OoO**

 **That's the second chapter of my fic, The Vulpine Dayne.**

 **I made some changes to the first chapter, namely that Naru*ehrm*Starick was 'born' a year before Jon and Robb.**

 **Just to be safe, I'll say this so there is no confusion, Ned asked Robert to legitimize Starick as a Dayne, he didn't make him a Stark because than Catelyn would've been a bitch to Naruto for no reason.**

 **That's it, I hope you guys have a great day :)**


	3. Chapter 3

It had been six years since Starick had been legitimized as a Dayne, and just like that he was not a bastard anymore. Even though Bastards were not ill-treated in Dorne, there still was some stigma still attached to it. Ned Stark had done Starick a great favor by helping him become a Dayne.

Very few people knew the fact that Starick was not Ashara's son, at least not the one that came out of her. Only the Maester some select household staff knew and they were sworn to secrecy by Ashara…and even Arthur. Even Ashara's sister didn't know about her pregnancy, their father had sent her sister, Allyria away to Sunspear so she wouldn't know about it. Their Eldest brother would return with her when he returned from Sunspear.

There would still be some people who would view Starick with a bit of suspicion in their gazes but those were the kind of people Ashara didn't think mattered.

 **OoO**

At age seven, Starick was thought history and geography by Maester Agmon, Weapons were taught to him by Ashara's good friend, she could even call him her brother seeing as she was so close to his sister, Prince Oberyn; The Red Viper of Dorne

He was taught how to use blades of different shapes and sizes ranging from a dirk to a Great sword.

Oberyn wanted to teach him about poisons as well but Ashara had forbid it, "My brother was a great warrior without the knowledge of poisons and so will be Starick." Her words exactly.

The following years would see Starick from becoming an adorable kid to an able warrior.

Starick had grown up with the tales of his father, Lord Eddard Stark and had put him onto a pedestal.

It did help that every year since he had known of his existence, Ned Stark had sent a letter to him with gifts that he thought were appropriate.

On his Seventh birthday, when Starick had wrote to him for the first time that he was going to be learning water dancing, Eddard Stark had sent him a slim blade with half wolf-half star pommel made out of wood so as to keep the sword lightweight.

Ned Stark was an absent father but no one could say that he wasn't a loving father.

 **OoO**

Ashara had come to notice a few odd things about her son. Wherever he went, the flora seemed to be affected by his presence, almost like they were nourished by his presence and the fauna just seemed to be attracted to him. Sometimes the mark on his right hand seemed to glow like the shining sun but mayhaps that was just the light.

There were many times when he would return home with a fox or a doe or a rabbit following him, once all of them at the same time.

But the one that really solidified the belief was when once she saw Starick playing with a rattle snake, the snake was docile and played along with her son.

This was more proof to her theory that Starick was not a normal child, he was blessed by the Gods, the Old ones.

 **OoO**

At fifteen, Starick was a boy with great height, his body was made for speed and his reach with a weapon was good. Anyone who might not know him might think he was a Lannister but even the Lannisters would be envious of his lustrous hair.

Four years back, Starick's cousin and good friend, Edric went to be a page in Blackhaven household after their Aunt Allyria was betrothed to their Lord Beric Dondarrion.

Not many knew this and he had come to know of this only past year, but Lord Beric was said to have been taken with his Lady Mother, he hadn't budged even when the fact that his mother hadn't had experienced moon blood ever since his birth.

But then something had transpired between them and then Lord Beric had amicably asked for his aunt's hand in marriage.

Personally speaking, he wouldn't have minded his mother getting married to Lord Dondarrion, he was a good man, and Starick knew that instinctively, somewhere deep down in his heart.

 **OoO**

Starick was aboard the Going-Merry, a caravel which was headed for King's Landing. It was a small ship, taking passengers to King's Landing for the Hand's Tourney.

This was it, he was finally going to meet his father! He had received a letter from his cousin, Edric Dayne about the Hand's Tourney and ever since then he had been planning this trip.

He could've asked his mother for permission but she got sad when he talked about his father and when he was going to be able to meet him so he chose to spare his mother of the pain and jumped aboard the ship.

He chosen this ship because the passage was cheap and he could afford it without asking others for the coin.

It would take two days to reach there if the winds were favorable and with the storm brewing in the Narrow Sea that was most likely the case.

He had booked a cabin for himself in which he passed the time for the three days it took to travel, only coming out at night to gaze at the stars.

 **OoO**

The smell of saltwater was replaced by the stench of shit as the fabled city came into the view but Starick was excited nonetheless. He had planned everything in his mind, he would head towards Eel Alley in the city and find himself an inn. Then…he would think about that later, first he needed to get himself a roof over his head.

He had arrived just in time, the Tourney was tomorrow.

He got off the ship and took in everything with wonderment, even though he was an able warrior at his age, he still was a young boy. His upbringing had sheltered him from the reality of the world, he was just an innocent soul here and now who was out to see his father for the first time…sure he had gotten letters from him and sent letters back to him but meeting him for the first time was something else entirely.

He silently made his way into the city through the nearest gate, and within an hour of getting into King's Landing, he was lost, hungry, and broke.

He had been wandering the streets looking for any sign posts that might lead him to Eel Alley when a little girl had ran into him. They both were about to fall when Starick steadied himself and the girl.

The girl looked to be around seven, was wearing crumpled, dirt ridden clothes and seemed to be crying.

She quickly said sorry to him and ran past him.

Starick didn't make much of it, he felt pity for her. As he was walking through the streets, he smelled something delicious being cooked on the streets and he thought of grabbing something to eat, his stomach conveyed its agreement by growling.

A potbellied man was grilling what seemed to be some kind of meat on a stand, and he wasn't the only one there selling food. The whole street was packed with hawkers who were selling something to eat.

Starick walked along the street with his mouth hung open and practically drooling everywhere, there was so much food!

He wanted to try everything so he went to the closest vendor who was selling fried bacon rolled around what seemed to be a turkey leg.

Noticing the drooling Starick and the nice clothes he was wearing and the sword at his hip, the vendor thought that this might be a good costumer. The whole day he had to fend off beggars and street urchins who were trying to get a free piece of his food, the fault was actually his, he had chosen this place so close to Flee Bottom that the scum of the city were in numbers here.

He beckoned the teenage boy towards his stand and asked, "You look hungry, want to try this?" he said waving the meat on front of the boy. His eyes followed the piece of meat as he waved it, drool escaping from the corner of his lips.

The vendor had to hold back his laughter at seeing this hungry boy.

"That would be two Copper Stars" he said as he handed the boy the leg.

The boy nodded in agreement and reached for his waist where the coin pouch was but he felt nothing there.

Getting out of his daze, Starick brought his eyes down to where his coin pouch was, but to his surprise, the pouch had been cut and thus he realized that his purse had been cut.

The vendor realized that the boy in front of him was without coin so he snatched the piece of meat out of the boy's hand, "No coin, no food" he grunted as he shooed the boy away.

Starick went away silently, he didn't need to make a scene here and attract the ire of the Gold Cloaks now, and not when he was the one with no coin.

Starick was beginning to regret not bringing anyone from the household with him here, at that time he had thought that they'd only slow him down but now…now he could use some adult help.

It was pure luck that he was spotted by a Blackhaven household guard who recognized the Dayne sigil sewn onto his chest.

Starick was walking aimlessly when he heard someone shout in his direction, "Hey you! You with the sword."

He turned around to see two men atop horses with a sigil of forked purple lightning on their armor, he recognized this sigil, how could he not? It was the sigil of Lord Beric Dondarrion, the man betrothed to his aunt Allyria.

"Yes?" he asked, a bit of hope returning to his face.

"Who are you? You bear the sigil of Starfall." The first guard asked.

"Starick, Starick Dayne, son to Lady Ashara Dayne of Starfall." He replied as calmly as he could without letting desperation enter his voice.

"Oh, what might you be doing here Lord Starick?" the second guard asked, realizing just who they were talking to, the boy met the description what with the whisker marks on his cheeks and his sunny blonde hair.

"Uh…ha-ha…I'm lost….to be honest." He said as he rubbed his cheek sheepishly.

"Ah, well would you like us to lead you to where Lord Beric and Lord Edric are?" the second guard asked.

"I would be grateful to you!" Starick said.

The first guard alighted from the horse and offered it to Starick, which he took to gratefully.

 **OoO**

"Stariickk!" the twelve year old Edric ran towards his cousin as he entered the courtyard of the Inn called The Spiked Turtle.

The inn was located on Visenya's hill and was one of the few ones which offered a courtyard for sword practice. The inn was not a cheap place to rent though as only Lords and Knights were allowed along with their Household members.

The little projectile hit Starick with full force but he steadied himself at the last moment, "I've missed you as well, little cousin." Starick said as he mussed Edric's hair.

"Hey! I'm not so little anymore. I'm almost a man grown. Soon I'll be a knight!" Edric pouted.

"Sure cousin." Starick said with an amused exoression.

Beric had been practicing his sword skills with his partner and close friend, Thoros of Myr when his squire had shouted out a name in glee and ran towards the entrance.

Thoros raised an eyebrow at this scene in amusement and nudged him to look as well.

A boy of about sixteen years was ruffling his squire's hair and by the looks of it, young Edric was enjoying the attention.

The boy was Starick Dayne, he knew that boy, how could he not? The boy would've been his step-son if he had married his mother.

Lord Beric had asked Ashara's brother and the Lord of Starfall, Arron for Ashara's hand in marriage. Arron had told him in advance about the face that Ashara had a son from another man and that boy had been legitimized as a Dayne. Beric didn't mind that, he liked the sisters, they had been friends since childhood. He didn't even mind the fact that her womb was barren, he could just give the Lordship to his brother and be content with his life with her as his wife.

So when one day, Ashara told him, "Lord Beric, I know that you are a just man. So that is why I must warn you before you accept my hand in marriage ….even if you have accepted Starick as your own I cannot love you the same as I do his father. I might come to like you and even accept you as my husband but my heart will forever belong to him and him alone…..no one else."

Beric hadn't been angry nor was he disrespected, he respected Ashara too much to force her like this, and he couldn't force her to love him.

So one day he had said to Arron, "I ask for Ally's hand in marriage." Oh how it had pained him to ask for someone's hand who was not Ashara but Ashara had told him that Ally like him since they were kids.

And that's how Beric came to be betrothed to Allyria Dayne, Ashara's younger sister.

He still nursed some form of affection for Ashara but it was not love, his growing affections towards Allyria was love.

Some might've wondered how he could not blame the boy in front of him for his…well not getting married to Ashara but the answer was simple. He had been ready to take the boy in as his step-son, he had prepared himself by spending time with him to get to know him better and thus he had forged a bond with the boy.

And the other thing is he had liked Ashara, but he had come to love Allyria.

"You've grown a lot since I last saw you, Starick." Beric said as he offered his hand to him.

"Yes I have Lord Beric." Starick said as he took a hold of the hand.

Beric pulled him into a half hug, and ruffled his hair.

"You look better than the runt I once knew." He teased Starick, "So, what brings you to King's Landing huh?"

"I want to take part in the Hand's Tourney." While not the truth, it wasn't a complete lie either. Starick didn't want anyone else knowing the identity of his father. Only his mother knew and she had asked him to keep quite because it might tarnish his family name…that's how much she loved him.

Someone coughed beside them, "I'm afraid you're leaving me out of the conversation." Thoros said dramatically.

"Ah Thoros! This is my nephew from Allyria's side of family." He said motioning towards Starick.

"Starick, this is Thoros of Myr, a Red Priest though he's not too priestly with how he drinks and beds the wenches here." Beric jested with his friend.

"Aye-Aye, make fun of the red priest, that seems to be all the rage these days." He grumbled as he sheathed his sword.

"Starick! Are you really going to take part in the Tourney?!" Edric piped in.

"Aye, I am going to take part in the melee, test my mettle against other warriors of the kingdom." He said with a fierce determination in his voice.

"Ah, you shall be facing me as well then." Thoros said as he slapped him on the back with a laugh.

"I hope to be an able competitor to you." Starick said as he smiled at him.

"Come on, let's get you settled in the inn and then we'll go add your name to the list of melee fighters and the jousts contestants." Beric said as he sheathed his sword as well, beckoning Starick to follow him.

While on the way to the hostess of the inn, Starick told him how his purse had been cut and how he was broke. Thoros laughed at that, and so did Lord Beric Dondarrion.

It was late afternoon when they made their way to the Red Keep to meet the Master of the Tourney, David Pyle.

The guards took one look at Thoros and Lord Beric and let them pass through without any questions,

One word to describe the Master of the Tourney was, was a man with a ten feet pole up his backend. He took one look at Starick and the group and t'ched as he realized what they were here for.

But still, he was a man of manners and etiquette, "How might I help you Thoros?" he asked in disdain. As if here was the last place he wanted to be at.

"I'm here to enlist my good friend, Starick here, into the melee and the jousts." Thoros said slapping Starick's back.

"You do know that the Tourney is tomorrow, I can't enlist him. The time period to enlist was up until yesterday night. I'm sorry to be of no help." He said without sounding sorry.

"Come now Pyle, don't act all stuck up around me…or do you want me to tell your friends about that one time at the taver-" Thoros was saying when, "Fine-fine-fine! I'll enlist him, you need not talk about that incident." David said as he rummaged around his desk.

Finally finding what he was looking for, he extracted a piece of parchment from the drawer, he looked Starick right in the eye with all the disdain he could muster and asked, "Full name and house and knightship, if any."

"Uh...Starick Dayne of Starfall."

He noted the name down with crisp and practiced strokes, "Hundred Stags." He asked as he held out his hand.

"I've got your covered" Beric said as he handed him a pouch of coins. "The melee starts at the ten on the day after tomorrow. The jousts begin at one in the noon tomorrow. For both contests, bring a horse and a sword, armor is optional but preferable. You may leave." He said as he went back to doing what he was before they came along.

"He's peculiar." Starick said as they exited his office.

"He's a pompous ass if I know one." Thoros said before adding, "And I know a lot of 'em." He laughed as he said that.

As Thoros was laughing, he turned around a corner and a brown spotted cat ran between his legs and ran into Starick, stunning itself.

Starick caught it by the scruff of its neck and took a closer look, it had a missing eye and claw marks on its face.

Starick got the impression that the cat was a fighter, but the cat seemed content in his presence. She nestled closer to his hand, snuggling to him and purred.

Thoros turned around to see what had happened when he was rammed from behind, leading to both the rammer and the priest crashing to the ground.

"Watch where you are going boy!" Thoros said with a frown as he dusted himself on the ground.

 **OoO**

Arya had begun her training with her sword master, Syrio Forel. The first thing he has said to her was that, "Boy, Girl, You are a Sword, that is all." And balancing on top of the stairs.

He had her practice hopping around on one leg and do cartwheels while being blindfolded. He also gave her lessons with sword fighting or as he called it, 'Water Dancing'.

One day, she had asked her to bring him cats from across the Red Keep to build up her agility.

At first, even the fat tomcat from the kitchens could lead her to a pointless chase at the end of which she still wouldn't be able to catch it but after three days of chasing cats all across the keep, she was finally close to catching this one.

It was a brown spotted cat that had a missing eye, she was a fighter; that was for sure. She had nearly caught it three times already but each time the cat got away by scratching and biting her. She had scratches on her hands and legs and scabs from injuries that came from falling down the stairs.

By this point, she was considering wearing pads on her arms and legs but her pride and Syrio's lesson wouldn't allow her that.

'Every hurt is a lesson, boy.' He had said. SHE WAS NOT A BOY, why couldn't her sword master get that right. Sure she was not pretty but who needed to be pretty when you could kick some butt. Her sister's friends called her Arya Horseface, t'ch, she couldn't even enjoy horse-riding because of that and that was one of the few things that she was better at than her sister.

The cat was running up the stairs, taking turns and twisting and turning around the hallways. It ran with another worldly grace as it reached the top of the stairs, the cat took a left turn.

She cursed herself for being slow on the steps, she picked up her speed and turned around the corner and ran into something hard and metal-y.

She felt a sharp pain at the impact coming from her lips, she tasted something metallic and raised her hand to feel something warm dribbling down her lip.

"Watch where you are going boy!" the man she had ran into said. She looked up to see a man with reddish-gold hair and a boy about Jon's age with bright blonde hair and….were they whisker marks on his cheeks? He was cradling the cat in his arms and the cat felt at peace with him.

One gold cloak had told her just this morning that the cat was a fighter, didn't come close to any humans and if she did, she would attack them viciously.

She was about to say that she was not a boy when someone beat her to it, it was the blonde boy

"Uh…Thoros, that's a girl."

FINALLY! Someone recognized the fact that she was not a boy. The man below her was dusting himself.

The man below her must've wanted to get up because he pushed her aside a bit too roughly and started dusting himself up.

She was still in a daze when she felt strong arms around her as she was picked up by the shoulders, she looked up to come face to face with the blonde boy. He was staring intently at her lips, his eyes were purple….. t'ch, just her luck to meet a pervert of all times.

The cat was coiled up on his head, purring contently as she rubbed itself on his spiky hair.

The boy reached inside his pocket and brought out an embroidered piece of cloth which she recognized as a handkerchief.

He applied it to her lips, "Hold it there, it'll help stop the bleeding." He said as he handed it to her.

"Girl, what are you doing in this part of the castle, hell, what you are doing in the castle in the first place?" the bald man bluntly asked rubbing his head

"I-I'm chasing cats." She replied before realizing that that was not a great answer. The bald man, who she had ran into just looked her over once more.

"Well go chase cats somewhere else, this is not the place to do it. This is the Red keep, people like you aren't allowed here" he said before his expression softened, "I'm saying this for your own safety, if the gold cloaks find you they'll whip you." He said.

What! Why was he talking like that? What did he mean people like _her?_ She then looked down and realized why he was talking like that, her clothes were dirty and she had scratches and scabs on her hands and legs and her hair was a mess. She looked at the blonde boy looking with her with sympathy and the other two in pity. She didn't like those looks of pity

"Hey! I'm not some slum dweller, I'm a water dancer to be and I was chasing cats to practice with my speed….don't look at me with those eyes" she said in a single breath by the end of which she was left taking a long breath.

"A water dancer you say?" the blonde boy asked raising his eyebrows in a curious manner.

"Yes, Syrio is teaching me how to see with my other senses and improving my agility." She said, for some reason she thought that the boy didn't believe her.

"Ah, might your master be Syrio Forel?" the boy asked.

"Yes" she didn't know where this was going. "Well you're in good hands then little lady." He said as he patted her head. This action reminded her of Jon, _Has he reached the wall yet?_ She thought.

"I'm not a lady." She quickly spat out, quickly but not unkindly.

"You've got a heart kid! You should come visit Dorne sometime, some of my friends would love to spar with you." He said as he mussed her hair. Who was this boy to call her a kid?

"Come on Starick, leave the poor girl alone. We've got to fit you for tomorrow's joust and also a spar or did you forget your promise." The bald man said, he had been watching their interactions for some time.

"No way old man, I never go back on my promises." The blonde boy said as he retorted back.

He then turned around and said to her, "It was a pleasure meeting you, name's Starick Dayne of Starfall. See you around and here…" he said as he removed the cat from the top of his head and placed it in her hands. "A piece of advice, strike before they sense you." He said as he and his friends…she assumed they were his friends walked away.

And what help was that advice, she knew to strike before they _saw_ her. T'ch the nerve of that boy.

The cat was now fast asleep in her arms and she was already tired…that hit must've taken more out of her than she realized. So she turned back and started walking back to the hall where they trained. Syrio was going to be pleased, that she knew.

As she got down the stairs, she felt someone tap her shoulder. She looked back and there was the same boy with a nervous smile on his face.

"What do you want?" she asked a bit irritated at him, she still hadn't forgiven him for calling her a _kid._

"Uh….I was wondering if..." he started playing with twiddling his thumbs,

"Just get in with it!" she almost yelled.

"I was wondering if I could join you in your practices with Master Syrio?!" he blurted out.

Suspicion taking hold of her, she narrowed her eyes. "Why?" was the word she uttered as she chewed her lip.

"Well my Water Dancing master once told me about the First Sword of Bravos, he said that he was a great swordsman and an even better teacher. My Master was an apprentice of his, and he had even offered to take me to Bravos with him to complete my training there but my mother wouldn't allow so my training was left unfinished." He had been looking down the whole time but now he met her eyes and said, "I want only to finish my training."

She didn't know what came over her, but hearing such passion in his voice, she agreed with him.

"Alright, you can come visit me in the abandoned hall of the keep. I don't know if Syrio will let you train with us but you can come ask him yourself." She said, kind of excited to have a sparring partner that wouldn't kick her butt.

"Alright! Wait-! You mean now?!" Starick inquired.

"Well, when else if not now?" she asked.

"How about after the Tourney, I've got my hands full for a bit. I'm taking part in the melee and the jousts tomorrow!" he said, with a fire burning in his eyes.

"Uh…sure." She said as Starick took her hand and started shaking it enthusiastically.

"I never caught your name, it seems unfair that you know mine while I don't know yours…." He said as he let go of her hand.

"Arya Stark of Winterfell"

 **OoO**

 **I hope I captured the sibling-y bond that they are going to have in the future, I really loved how Jon and Arya were close and can only hope to do the same here with Naruto and Arya.**

 **Read and review and tell your friends if you like this fic.**

 **While reviewing, suggest some improvements I could make. That's all, have a nice day :)**

 **P.S It's been brought to my attention that my story is a really similar to another one, I've just read the first chapter and it's quite good, but let me tell you this once, I talked with my fellow author, mushy guillotine and we agree that I'm not copying his story. It's just a really weird coincidence that this happened.**

 **Go check out his story (Dawn of the Whiskered Dayne) if you like mine but once again, we have very different plans for our versions of Naruto. That's it, have a great day :)**


	4. Chapter 4

It was the night before the tourney and Sansa was having yet another dispute with her sister, this one was a bit more personal to her heart though.

From somewhere, not someone, because someone wouldn't give something like this to her sister out of free will, her sister had gotten hold of an embroidered piece of cloth that belonged to House Dayne, the same House to which the most chivalrous knight belonged to.

She just couldn't wrap her mind around this fact, and adding salt to the wounds was the fact that her sister was going to use it to wipe the leftover food residue from her lips.

"You can't do that!" she snatched it from her sister's hands after not being able to stand this any longer.

"Hey! He gave that to me, not you. So give it back!" Arya said as she reached for the handkerchief.

But Jeyne Poole had taken it off of Sansa's hands, "Who gave this to you?" she said as she examined the intricate embroidery. It had a sword with a star circling it, looked expensive as well.

"Starick, now give that back!" she said with her brows scrunched up.

"Well if he gave it to you, then he must not be very good looking." She laughed as she handed it back to Sansa.

Yes, no way did a good looking man gave this to her sister.

"He was, he was way better looking than your prince." Arya said as she catapulted her food on Jeyne's dress and then snatched the cloth and ran away.

"Why that little-" Jeyne was saying when she saw her father shooting her a warning glare, so she shut up.

Sansa looked at her father to see if he was angry but he wasn't paying attention to them, he was chatting with Jory Cassel about something.

By the end of the dinner, Arya was nowhere to be found but Septa Mordane said that she was in her quarters. Sansa couldn't care less, tomorrow was the day of the tourney! She would see her knights in shining armors, not that she needed to, not when she had her charming prince.

 **OoO**

Sansa was dressed in clothes that befitted a princess and Jeyne as befitted a lady-in-waiting to the princess. They were both chattering excitedly about what they might see in the Tourney.

Arya had been dressed in lady like clothes by Septa Mordane, much to her chagrin. She was wearing a blue linen wool gown with a white wolf embroidered on her chest. They made their way to the fields outside the city by the river Blackwater.

They had the seat of honor, below The Royal Family. Septa Mordane led them to the benches where Lord Eddard was already sitting with Ser Barristan Selmy. All the knights of the Kingsguard were in their shiny white cloaks and white armor, all except for Ser Jaimie who was in his beautiful gilded armor with a two lion brooches fastening his cloak.

Arya sat between her and their father, Jeyne sat on her other side between her and their septa.

Jeyne was looking at everyone with a childish glee and Sansa was not far behind in her excitement. Arya seemed to be excited too, "How are your dancing lessons going along?" she asked her sister gently.

"They're going splendidly" she bared her arm and showed her a blue bruise, "look at this bruise I got yesterday while practicing." She said excitedly.

Sansa frowned, ' _She must not be a good dancer.'_ She thought as a horn was blown.

Ser Barristan went to join the contestants as he excused himself from their presence.

All the knights and lords and freeriders who were going to be taking part in the tourney lined in front of the king in respect as they bowed before him.

Jeyne was pulling on her sleeve, "What?!" Sansa asked her.

"Ooh! I think I'm in love" she said gazing at a boy besides a bald man in red robes.

He was donned in a simple leathers with a shield in his hands but he looked anything but simple. He had sun-kissed blonde hair and the most captivating set of eyes, they were amethyst in shade.

Sansa could feel her heart beat faster just by looking at him, ' _No! I am betrothed to Joffrey.'_ She thought as Jeyne whispered something about marrying someone in her ears.

The boy was gazing in their direction as well, with a serene expression on his face.

A moment later, the expression was gone, replaced by fierce determination. His eyes swept over the crowd, meeting hers for just tenth of a second and when that happened, her heart leapt in her chest and then he passed over her to others.

All the participants went back to their tents, they would have fifteen minutes before the jousts would began.

The first joust was between Jory Cassel and a member of House Frey, in which Jory was victorious.

The second round was between Jory and the blonde boy. After two tilts, the boy unhorsed the member of her household.

Jeyne cheered loudly but Sansa remained quiet because that was not how a good lady acted. A moment later, Septa Mordane made her approval visible with a smile.

Ser Barristan Selmy was defeated by Jaimie Lannister and so was Andar Royce.'

During one of the jousts, Ser Gregorr Clegane's lance broke and killed a knight.

Jeyne screamed, she wanted to too but then she remembered that Joffrey was sitting on the higher bench behind her. If she was to be his wife, she couldn't balk at this event. She gripped the bench edge and by the time they had taken the corpse away, her knuckled were white.

Jeyne had been taken away by Septa Mordane to calm her frenzy, she returned a bit later with Jeyne in tow. Her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was red from crying.

 **OoO**

The sun had settled for the day and the moon was climbing up by the time six participants were left, Ser Jaimie Lannister, Lord Renly Baratheon, Ser Sandor Clegane, Gregor Clegane, Loras Tyrell and the blonde boy.

Lord Renly was paired with the blonde boy, his name…it was Starick Dayne…..she felt that she should know that name.

Jeyne was cheering for Dayne quite openly, and so was Sansa, though not quite so openly. The mere act of cheering for the blonde made her feel at odds with herself. She was betrothed to The Prince yet she was still cheering for this other boy. _Is this what being unfaithful means?_ She mused.

The sound of the whinnying horse brought her attention to the joust.

Lord Renly rode to meet the blonde boy midway when his lance broke against his shield.

Jeyne gasped and squeezed her hand, she squeezed back as she was in shock as well. If she had looked to her father, she would've noticed the grim and solemn look on his face

Lord Renly rode for the second tilt with a new lance but this time, this time it didn't break but the blonde wasn't unhorsed either.

After the sixth tilt, Lord Renly was unhorsed quite violently. He fell of his horse and hit the ground quiet violently. Seeing this, Starick got off his horse as well rushed towards Renly to offer his help.

"Quite an able jouster, aren't you?!" Renly said smiling painfully as he accepted Starick's offered hand.

"You honor me, Lord Renly" Starick accepted the praise.

Renly took of his helm with the golden antlers and offered it to Starick who accepted it after a lot of urging from the crowd.

By this time, the moon was well up so the king decreed the last four matches for the morrow.

While the smallfolk trudged their way to their homes in the city, the Lords and Knights would make their way to the river side for the night-feast.

 **OoO**

Arya's day had been going from pretty bad to okay-ish to alright-ish right now.

" _Your actions and appearance affect your Lord Father's image in the court."_ Septa Mordane had said before stuffing her in a blue gown and parading her in front of the court as they had made their way to the litter.

Come evening, only five contestants remained and one of them was her friend….well she thought they were friends, they had shook hands all. Lord Renly had given Starick his helm as ransom for defeating him in the joust, he had only taken that after the crowd had started urging him to take it.

The King had bellowed that the remaining matched were to take place on the morrow, not saying that Arya was disappointed but yeah…she was disappointed. She wanted to see how Starick levelled against the other competitors.

The citizens of King's Landing made their way into the city, mayhaps to drink and eat before going into their slumbers.

While the Lords and Knights would be taking part in the stupid feast that would be celebrating the appointment of The Hand into the King's small council.

It was all stupid, dressing up for a tourney, swooning after boys and this feast, they were all stupid things.

Her father and they had been given a seat of high honor, just beside the King's family. Cersei was there with her three children. She hated her, because of her Lady had died, because of her Nymeria had to go away and that little piece of shi- Joffrey was the reason her friend, Mycah had died. Killed by his Dog.

As she took a seat beside her father, Septa Mordane came and occupied the seat to her left. Sansa and Jeyne sat in front of her, she still hadn't forgiven them both for yesterday. Jeyne just rubbed her the wrong way, she was always weaseling up to her sister and took every chance to tease or belittle her. Even her sister took part in that instead of defending her.

This one time while stitching, she had pricked her finger and cursed, Jeyne and Sansa had snitched to the bloody Septa who had made her wash her mouth with soap and gave a long lecture on how to behave like a lady.

What had she done to them that they took every chance to poke around in her content life?

Her brother, Robb and her father's ward, Theon weren't any better.

The only one she liked was Jon, her half-brother. He was nice to her, he would muss her hair and call her little sister. He even gave her fencing lessons in secret when no one was around. He never asked her to be a perfect lady, or never questioned her why she played with the boys, that's why she loved him the most out of all her siblings….him and Bran were her only true friends left in the world.

Speaking of friends, she spotted Starick walking towards them with the Lightning Lord…..as the small folk had called him.

"Lord Stark, it is nice seeing you in the south." The Lord said…or maybe he was jesting with her father…anyways, they both continued talking as Arya tuned them out.

She focused on her potential sparring partner, Starick. He was listening to her father speak with rapt attention and a weird smile on his face.

"Psst! Starick" she whispered lowly.

No reply.

"Starick!" she whispered a little loudly.

No reaction whatsoever, so she yelled, "STARICK!" and half the table turned towards her. Giggling in embarrassment, she covered her mouth.

"Arya!" Septa Mordane yelled. "What are you doing?!" she asked, her face getting all red in embarrassment.

"EDRIC!" Starick yelled back, attracting all the attention onto himself. The red haired Lord seemed to be amused if his grin was anything to go by. Half the table was looking at him now, some were whispering amongst themselves, one being Sansa.

Arya for her part was grateful to Starick, he directed the attention towards himself instead of letting it fester on her. Just as he had said that name, a boy of around twelve who was standing behind Starick said in a hissing tone, "What?!"

"Uh…ha-ha…nothing." he said as he ruffled the boy's hair. The boy seemed embarrassed by this act and weaseled out from under him and went back to the table they had come from.

By now, everyone went back to their food, the septa chose not to berate Arya lest it attract the attention on them again while Starick was rubbing the back of his hand nervously while laughing. Arya mouthed a quick thank you towards him and started focusing on her food…..well

"Lord Stark, let me introduce my nephew to you, Starick Dayne." The Lightning Lord said as he moved Starick in front of her father

"Lord Stark." Starick said with a deep nod.

"Starick….." her father said in a daze.

"It's an honor to meet you…." Starick said as he fidgeted with his fingers, looking down. Never meeting her father's eyes.

"I'm sorry my lords, I must excuse myself." Her father said as he quickly made his way out of the pavilion.

' _Why did father leave suddenly like that?'_ she thought before she noticed a look of utter sadness that had come over Starick. She called out to him but he didn't seem to hear her as he made his way out of the pavilion.

 **OoO**

Starick had dreamed of this moment for years now, when he would meet his father, how his father might pull him into an embrace and tell him that he loved him but he had never dreamed that his father would ditch him after he was introduced to him.

The things he had gleamed off of the letters he received from had helped form an image of his father in his mind. He was stern, he was strict, he was honorable, and he was just. But in all the letters he had received, he had never gotten an 'I love you' in return. Did that mean that his father didn't love him? Or did it just mean he was not very open about his feelings?

He was tending to believe the former reasoning if what transpired between them was anything to go by…he felt this rage inside him at the moment. He was angry at himself for believing that his father would be happy to see him, angry at his father for not treating with him.

He was now by the Blackwater Reach where the pleasure barges and small ships of the Lords and Ladies were moored to a makeshift dock. He kicked a stone over the river, which skipped over three times before making its way to its watery grave.

Skipping stones always calmed his mind down, whatever mood he may be in, he would've been calmed by the act of watching stones skip. It provided a sort of comfort to him that only training himself to exhaustion provided….his thoughts went back to his half-sister, Arya. She reminded him so much of Elia that it wasn frightening and Elia was like a little sister to him.

He didn't want to face her now, lest he say something to her that he might regret. She didn't deserve his hate because he was angry at their father, which would be idiotic and cruel. From his first meeting, he had gathered that he liked her flames of youth, he didn't want them to be extinguished for some reason…..he would protect her like he would his own family and she was….well family.

With that stark realization, his previous anger dissipated. In its place remained sorrow and dejection at his rejection. But Starick had a Will of Fire and that fire burned strongly within him, with a new found vehemence, Starick decided that he would make his father acknowledge him.

That night, Starick dreamed of a sewer with strange metal pipes and a great golden cage. In that cage was a nothing but darkness and a lone crimson eye with a slitted pupil.

There was a roar and he heard an impossibly deep voice speaking something in a queer tongue. Red bubbles started frothing from inside the cage and started spreading outside towards him, he was fear stricken, he couldn't move, couldn't speak as the bubbles started moving towards him. The water around him started bubbling and then he woke up in cold sweat.

' _Naruto'_ the voice kept saying, "Naruto…." He repeated it out loud, he could still hear the voice repeating it again and again with increasing intensity until the bubbles had started appearing.

Starick tried to go to sleep again but try as he might, it wouldn't come. So he just laid there, looking at the ceiling. ' _Just wait Father, I'm going to make you acknowledge me.'_ His previous anger had been replaced by fierce determination, he didn't know how but he was going to do it. As he kept thinking of things he'd do tomorrow, a dreamless slumber crept upon him.

 **OoO**

The melee took place early in the morning with about forty three contestants. Thoros of Myr had set his sword aflame which tended to scare other competitors' mounts but that was not the case with Starick's mare. Due to Starick's calming presence, the mare's fright was suppressed that Starick gave Thoros a run for his money in the melee. The melee lasted for about two and a half hours at the end of which Starick came out victorious

"Quite a trained mount you've got there, eh?" Thoros asked as he was helped up by Starick from his position on the ground. "For it last for so long against fire, you must've put 'er through hell!" he laughed at his own joke as they moved out of the arena.

Starick was awarded 20,000 dragons and Thoros, 10,000 dragons for his show of skills and being the runner-up.

' _This is a lot of money!'_ Starick thought as he handed the coin bags to Edric, he would keep them safe in their tents. He had grown wise over the duration of his stay in King's Landing, plus Thoros had done the same so….

The jousts were going to start in an hour after the melee.

"I can't believe you won!" Edric said while doing a happy jig, he had placed his bets on Starick winning even though the odds favored other knights and freeriders but only Edric had seen Starick fight so he was sure that his cousin would win and right he was.

Both the cousins were few hundred dragons richer or well, in Starick's case, thousands of dragons richer than yesterday. And both were busy planning on how to spend them, Starick was thinking of buying something for his mother while Edric was planning on buying well-made armor for when he would become a knight.

A horn was blown and both of their cue to leave the tent. After congratulating Starick on being in the quarter finals of the tilt, Beric had let Starick borrow Edric for the day. He was to be a squire to Starick for the day and as such, he was required on the field to ready his mount and his lance.

The first joust was between The Mountain and Ser Jaimie Lannister, where on the second tilt, Ser Jaimie was unhorsed.

The second was between Loras Tyrell and Starick, at the beginning of the Joust, Loras rode along the fence and towards the seat of High Honor and presented a rose to his half-sister, Sansa. He must've said something because as he moved away, Sansa's face was all red. Starick thought to do something like that with Arya but from the short time he had known her, she would probably kick his ass for doing something like that in front of the Tourney audience so he chose not to.

He gave a curt nod to Loras which was returned following which, they both rode to their respective starting positions. A second horn was blown and they both took off galloping towards each other.

The first tilt led to a draw and so did the one after that. The third tilt however, resulted in Starick's victory.

Now the finals were where it would get interesting, it was Starick against Ser Gregor Clegane. They both rode to their respective positions at the each end of the fence. Starick once again sent a curt nod to his opponent which though was not returned, instead, the knight growled at him as he steadied his stallion.

With the sound of horn permeating the air, Starick began riding with a slow trot and started picking up pace slowly but surely as opposed to galloping from the start. This was a tricky opponent, he couldn't win by brute force here as he did with Loras before. He braced himself for the impact of his opponent's lance against his shield and just as it came to pass, he raised his lance and angled it away from him leading to it hitting the Mountain's helm with concussive force and dazing him. As they were both riding away, the Mountain fell from his horse with a thud.

The smallfolk cheered him as his mare came to a halt, sure it was an underhanded means to an end but you couldn't exactly expect him to unhorse The Mountain that Rides with honor, ' _Honor will only get you killed on the field'_ The Red Viper had said and in this instance, he agreed with his master.

He had unmounted from his mount and let it be taken away to the stables. _'They are cheering for me!'_ he thought but that realization didn't last long as he heard a rage filled roar behind him and as he turned around, he was sent flying back into the fence with a blow to the chest,

Pain shot up through his nerves as he wheezed on the ground, kinda like a turtle on its back. Starick wheezed again and felt his ribs, at least one was broken. It took him few seconds to collect himself before he could even think of trying to get up. And when he did get up, he had to dodge the broken lance that was coming his way lest he get impaled. Ducking under the lance, Starick kicked the Mountain in his shin with all his might but that one act led to pain shooting through his chest.

He grunted through the pain as he drew his slim blade, more useful for water dancing then parrying huge broken lances or even longswords but he'd have to do with what he had. Not one moment after he had drawn it, he had to block a downswing from the Mountain's longsword. Pain.

Somewhere in the commotion of kicking him and rolling away, the Mountain had discarded the lance and unsheathed his sword to attack him.

He blocked the second blow with his sword using both hands to support it. His own blade dug into the palm of his hand drawing blood. The third blow cracked his sword, each successful block led to more pain, _'But this pain is better than the other outcome of me getting cleaved in half.'_ He thought. The fifth blow cracked his sword and brought him to the ground. The sixth blow was going to be the end of him it seemed.

Starick was perhaps scared for the first time…well not the first time but this was the most scared he had been ever. But with fright came the tell-tale signs of adrenaline rush, his senses heightened, his heartbeat got faster and he could see the sword coming down on him in slow motion as if it was moving through honey.

Unseen by all, Starick's eyes flickered from amethyst purple to crimson red with a slit acting as a pupil and his whisker marks thickened. His fear was replaced with newfound drive, he felt he could fight a hundred men and still come out on top. But before he could act, a man came in between him and the mountain.

He met the Mountain's blow with his greatsword, he didn't need to defend him longer as the gold cloaks and other knights surrounded The Mountain with their weapons drawn. The man turned around and Starick's heart leapt in its cage, the man was no other than his father, Lord Eddard Stark.

There was warmth in his eyes as he offered him a hand, the King was yelling something but Starick didn't hear it or didn't want to hear it as he looked at the offered hand in daze. A moment later, he came out of his stupor and took the hand, pulling himself up.

"I'm sorry for not being there for you." His father whispered in his ear as he clasped his hand on his shoulder.

His father raised Starick's hand up and the crowd started cheering. He was declared the winner and then everything was a blur. Beric Dondarrion was congratulating him, Edric was crying, his father was there and a many maidens cheering his name along with his father's. All the doubts he had about his father were gone, replace by awe and respect.

That night at the feast, a man named Jory came by his table and said, "Lord Stark would like to speak with you in his solar."

 **OoO**


End file.
